NEW technology that could revolutionise the use of public transport across Hampshire has been launched.

It is the first time all information from bus and train companies has been co-ordinated, according to those behind the smartphone app, meaning journeys can be planned from start to finish.

Fronted by the Velvet bus company, the app takes in data from both theirs and other rival bus companies which allows users to hop between services which are the most convenient.

It also uses real time information from Southampton City Council.

In all the service will cover the Velvet timetable which extends from Eastleigh to Southampton, Romsey and across parts of the New Forest.

The company behind the app is Mytransit, a London-based firm with a development arm in Basingstoke.

Boss Han Yip said the app would change the way people use public transport in the city.

Mr Yip, 28, said: “It simply means that planning any journey across Eastleigh and Southampton is one tap away.

“The idea is that people will use the Velvet app rather than having to jump to and from different apps.

“This is a first for Southampton, this is the first city we have launched this in and hopefully it will much improve the take-up and use of public transport.”

The app which has now launched is free and currently available on Android devices but with a launch date planned for iPhone devices later in the year.

There are also plans to add e-ticketing to the app.

Mikey Nevitt, commercial officer for Velvet said: “We are the only bus company in Southampton that has an app that provides information on all bus companies in the one place. Although we want people on our services we appreciate we do not cover every route where our customers wish to go so we want to make that information as accessible to them as possible.

“Public transport may have a reputation of being stuck in the past but at Velvet we have been at the forefront of technical innovation in the transit industry.

“We were one of the first bus companies to use e-ticketing, the first company in the area to offer free wi-fi on our buses and we use Twitter to tweet delays and live updates as we feel it is important to move with the times.”

Along with the journey planner the app also gives all the latest travel updates to make avoiding delays and cancelled services easier.